I voted for Funhouse. But to me Knight in White Satin Armor and Funhouse are essentially a 2-part episode. And if I could, I would have joint voted for them both. I will save my Knight in White Satin Armor review for the individual grading thread and focus on Funhouse for this post. But Funhouse is such an amazing episode. It really has everything that makes an episode great.

The dream sequences are simply amazing. I have never seen a movie, much less a television show that portrays dreams in such a realistic manner. (or maybe MY dreams are just like that, in which case, maybe I should seek therapy). I particularly enjoy the carnival dreams in which Tony sets himself on fire. Watching Silvio "slide" by and do his signature, "Our true enemy..." line is great, but it isn't just comic relief, as we soon realize Tony's subconscious is trying to get through regarding Pussy as a rat.

This episode also predominately features Tony. Hardly any other characters are given subplots. And you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way. Especially for such an emotionally driven episode. I would have felt short-changed had one of the other characters taken the spotlight even in the least. Tony has some good moments with Melfi, which are similar to the ending of last season, however we get to see Tony acting in a completely different manner, which is great. Instead of fear of death or persecution, he simply brushes off his worries in what seems to me to be a fairly self-destructive bout of denial.

Meadow's graduation ties Tony back into his immediate family, and it all comes rushing to a conclusion with the intrusion of the FBI creating what quite possibly is the worst day in Tony's life. I also feel like the meeting between Tony & Livia is discounted. In reality, this is the last time we will truly see Livia (as well as Nancy Marchand, discounting the re-used footage from Proshai, Livushka). We get a great meeting between Dave Scatino and Tony, tying up the "Bust Out" on the sporting goods store.

The music is perfect. "Waiting on a Call from You", peerlessly fits the closing montage. The said montage is a perfect way to end the season (and even the series if the show would have ended after this episode). I love how slowly the camera pans around Meadow's party, as well as all the different business that the Soprano's life of crime has touched. And how the camera zooms in on a hardened (yet also softened) Tony blowing clouds of smoke from his cigar and then to the ocean, which plays obvious significance in this episode. A perfect episode overall.

While Season 2 had some great moments and some great ideas, the season on a whole is probably my least favorite, even moreso than season 6a and season 4. Stylistically, it just felt incredibly mellodramatic and a bit uneven. It didn't even feel like the Sopranos to me. It's difficult for me to explain.

As for my favorite episode, I have to say D-girl. Great, great, episode. Big Pussy in the bathroom at the end juxtaposed with Chris coming back in. I just thought the writing and the moments, everything about the episode, great.

"Funhouse" for me too, for reasons already mentioned too many times for me to repeat at length.

The dream sequence was amazing, and - being the most lenghthy, extensive one up to this point - was unlike anything I'd ever seen in "The Sopranos" before. And the resolution of the Pussy storyline that followed, while reaching an inevitable point that I'm sure everyone knew would come eventually, was handled so well that it was impossible not to feel emotionally crushed by his death. And the montage at the end, which I had forgotten about until Tennessee Moltisanti reminded me of it, was a great way to bring the season to a close. This was a fantastic episode, and perhaps the most satisfying season finale of the series. While both "I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano" and "Whitecaps" are great (with “Whitecaps” possibly being an all-around better isolated episode than “Funhouse”), this one brought with it a sense of closure that makes it the strongest season-ending episode, in my book.

Funhouse is a dazzling episode, especially the first 45 minutes or so. My one small critique of the episode is that everything seemed completely anti-climactic after the killing of Big Pussy (how could it not be), and the episode goes on for another 15 minutes or so.

But Funhouse is definitely a favorite of mine, and one of the great season finales.

I voted for "From Here to Eternity". There's not really much I can add to what others who picked this episode said. The Melfi session is my favorite of the whole series and although Paulie's visit to the psychic gets a lot of praise, which it deserves, I loved the scene with the Priest of his parish better for utter hilarity.Now mind you I just finally got around to buying the second season on DVD last week and this was the last season I needed to complete the series, so I'm just getting around to watching it again after not seeing it for a couple of years. Well besides the odd episode on A&E, but that's a different experience IMHO(you don't get the complete Soprano experience watching it in syndication). I'm only at the end of "Bust Out" so I still have three or four episodes left to review so my feelings could change on this.I find trying to pick my favorite episode of The Sopranos is like to trying to pick my favorite band, song or album. It can change on a daily...hourly basis in relation to my moods. I'm sure my feelings will change within the next couple of days after I finish re-watching the whole season and will have another favorite...For a little while at least.

carpetbeggar wrote:I find trying to pick my favorite episode of The Sopranos is like to trying to pick my favorite band, song or album. It can change on a daily...hourly basis in relation to my moods. I'm sure my feelings will change within the next couple of days after I finish re-watching the whole season and will have another favorite...For a little while at least.

Great point. There's probably 15 or more episodes, any of which are my favorite depending upon the one I'm watching.

Tony, his spirits crushed after b-lining to the fridge first thing in the morning: "Who ate the last piece of cake?"

My vote went to Commendatori. As much as I love Funhouse, Commendatori has that The Godfather Part II feel to it... only slightly because of location of course, but still enough for me to enjoy it just as much time after time.

jouster wrote:I chose "Guy Walks Into a Psychiatrist's Office..." I think the scene between Melfi and Tony in the diner stands as my favorite scene between the two of them even now, and also one of my favorite scenes in general. We also get the return of Pussy (they should do a spin-off called Tony's Basement - how many great scenes have there been down there?) and the first appearance of Janice, whom I found most compelling during season two.

This episode also got my vote. The scene between Pussy and Tony is classic.

It has to be Funhouse. It's simultaneously a perfectly mind-blowing hour of television, but also a thoroughly satisfying season finale. Beautiful build-up of atmosphere in this episode. The way it just plunges you headfirst into the dream sequence is excellent. Tony and Carmela making love, you let your guard down, then boom, cut to the "spring snow" scene. The use of "Thru and Thru" by the Stones hits that perfect sublime cohesion with the mood of the show.

And I love the way that Pussy was revealed to be an informant not through any one tangible clue, but through a build-up of suspicion in Tony's subconscious. Pussy, despite his facade of joviality, is a profoundly stressed man, and Tony comes to recognize this. He sees the signs - a brief, awkward comment, a strangely timed or forced laugh, a statement that just seems too well-rehearsed. Tony dismisses it and sweeps it under the rug, but it can't stay buried. Eventually he has a fever dream in which his subconscious confronts him straight up, and tells him the hard truth. This is what his therapy with Melfi truly does for him, he learns things about the human mind that allow him to manipulate his subordinates, or recognize treachery, and it helps him climb the ladder in the mafia. This is partly what makes Tony so impressive yet frightening. He can see through lies, no matter how well conceived, and stare into a person's soul, accurately deciphering their intentions and judging them based on this.